Page 21 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 28

Community

Capitalism

Becoming An

Impediment

To Morality

By: Abel Merawi
Adis Ababa, Ethiopia

hen COVID-19 became
a global pandemic,
America was no
Wexception. But the way

the US handled it as a capitalist makes it an
exception. In America, the novel corona-virus
hit New York the hardest and the availability
of medical supplies stood as a barrier. But
the producers of medical kits, along with
other states, had another plan in mind. For the
companies, this was a profitable opportunity.

They didn’t provide the medical equipment
for the state which was hit the hardest, but
rather to the highest bidder. This was easy
for there was no shortage of bidders as other
states joined the bidding despite the desperate
need in New York. As Lydia DePillis and Lisa
Song reported in ProPublica on April 2, New
York State was forced to pay 15 times more
than the usual price for medical kits. The

State has paid, “$248,841 for a portable X-ray
machine that typically sells for $30,000 to
$80,000.”

ISSUE 28 | JUNE 2024 21